Four police killed in Paris stabbing, attacker shot dead – World

A man holding a knife stabbed and killed four officers at the police headquarters in the heart of central Paris on Thursday, before being shot dead.

The facilities were cordoned off after the lunchtime attack in the historic center of Paris, usually packed with tourists, and dozens of police and emergency vehicles had converged on the spot, AFP Reported journalists

At least one subway station near the building, which is close to the Notre-Dame cathedral and other important tourist attractions, was closed.

Sources counted AFP The attacker was shot dead by police in the courtyard of the building, where he was employed.

The man worked in an administrative capacity, but it was not immediately clear what his precise job role was.

An emergency message was transmitted by loudspeakers in the court next door, announcing "an attack" at the police headquarters and stating that the area was "under surveillance".

Scenes of & # 39; panic & # 39;

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who was due to visit Turkey later on Thursday, postponed his trip to visit the scene of the attack.

"People ran everywhere, cried everywhere," said Emery Siamandi, an interpreter who was in the building when the attack occurred.

"I heard a shot, I assumed it was inside," he said AFP. “Moments later, I saw the policemen crying. They were in panic. "

Investigators suspect that a dispute in the workplace caused the deadliest attack on police in France in years, sources said, but there were no more immediate details.

The Paris prosecutor is on the scene, but the anti-terrorism agencies have not been involved at this stage.

Did it break or was there any other reason? It is still too early to say, "said Loic Travers, head of the Alliance Police union for the Paris region." BFM television.

Succession of attacks.

There were no immediate indications of the possible motives of the attacker.

France has been shaken since 2015 by a succession of attacks attributed to jihadists, which have included large synchronized assaults and attacks with firearms and isolated weapons, killing more than 250 people.
The country remains on high alert after these attacks.

In January 2015, two men armed with Kalashnikov rifles broke into the Paris offices of the satirical weekly. Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people.

A policewoman was killed outside Paris the next day, while an armed man took hostages in a Jewish supermarket, four of which were killed.

On November 15 of that year, France was hit by the worst terrorist attacks in its history.

The jihadists of the Militant Islamic State (EI) group armed with assault rifles and explosives attacked outside a football match between France and Germany at the national stadium, Paris cafes and the Bataclan concert hall in a coordinated assault that left 130 dead and more than 350 injured.

On July 14, 2016, a Tunisian plowed a truck through a large crowd gathered for the Bastille Day fireworks in the Mediterranean city of Nice. The attack killed 86 people and injured more than 400.

The attack at the police headquarters also occurred as tension grew within the ranks of the police force, which had extended to the limit by monitoring the "yellow vest" protests against President Emmanuel Macron and have been accused of hard tactics.

Thousands of French police demonstrated in Paris on Wednesday for better working conditions in a rare protest of the force, in the context of an increase in suicides within their ranks.

The organizers estimated that 27,000 officers participated, of the 150,000 police officers across the country. There were no independent estimates available.